Welcome to Musical Cocktails' Location Recording Services

We provide a complete and comprehensive professional service from recording, editing, mastering right through to artwork preparation / design to duplication and distribution for:

• Fully Comprehensive CD Location Recording Packages
• Concert Recordings
• Archive Recordings (please click here to view this section)
• Promotional and Demo Recordings
• PA / Conferencing and events (please click here to view this section)

Recording in practice:

Musical Cocktails Limited is one of the UK's leading mobile recording facilities, with many years experience recording all kinds of soloists, ensembles, orchestras and choirs. We work both independently (providing producer, engineer(s) and full technical facilities) and in co-operation with Producers, FOH, Event / Project Managers and other technical or venue staff.

Our standard services would include (as appropriate):

• the latest analogue and digital systems to produce high resolution digital recordings
• choosing equipment from our mobile and studio facilities to get the best from the microphones and / or FoH systems that are used
• recording direct to digital stereo or multi-track tape (16bit 44.1kHz CD standard up to 24bit 48kHz) or direct to harddisc / MO disc (with resolution all the way up to 24bit 192kHz) with any required format or industry standards as requested
• Fully independant back-up recordings provided in multi-track (tape or disc formats) and / or in stereo on DAT, CD, Minidisc or Cassette
• Full Timecode facilities as requested for Sound to Picture or Broadcast Production
• Full Producer and Engineer Talkback System
• Editing at original recording resolution with reduction to CD standard at final processing

Using these methods for location recording guarantees the highest achievable standard for your recordings, with the cleanest signal path to tape or disc. Our aim is to give you a completely natural recording of the music / narration / voice-overs through the use of the most advanced technology available by our highly skilled engineers.

Our philosophy is that we are here to help you achieve the most out of your recording and achieve the best recording possible whether you are a composer, professional producer, record label, independant artist, choir, ensemble or orchestra. Dieter Hester heads up our engineering team with a wealth of many years experience both sides of the microphone. Having completed graduate studies at Trinity College of Music, London, post-graduate studies at the Guildhall, London, worked on numerous commercial and private release recordings and broadcast on numerous occasions for the BBC with the BBC Concert Orchestra and with many international and local radio productions, you can relax and enjoy the recording sessions / event knowing that all things technical are in very capable and experienced hands.

There are many differences in the quality of equipment and digital audio systems, so here at Musical Cocktails we have always had the philosophy of leading the way and developing new techniques to keep us at the forefront of technological advantages. We lead from the front and push the boundaries forward wherever possible to achieve some truly magnificent recordings. We only invest in the equipment that enables us to be at the leading edge of our creative field.

We have been recording at high resolution digital with sampling rates up to 24bit 192kHz since the Millennium. 24bit 96kHz resolution is becoming a preferred standard, these digital resolutions are way superior to the CD format of 16bit 44.1kHz. This is why we only convert to CD standard as the final process after all recording, editing and mastering is completed.

We provide a comprehensive set of job specified equipment, which enables us to cater for musicians ranging from solo performers to full symphony orchestra with choir and soloists. Our most recent recordings have included solo piano, church organ, string quartets, symphony orchestras, vocal soloists with orchestra, vocal soloists with piano, violin with guitar, violin with piano, choral concerts, solo oboe, school choirs, youth orchestras, narrative medical cassettes for the NHS and even digital tape!

We can cater for technical set-ups ranging from direct to stereo, 5.1 surround sound, all the way through to 48 track multi-track. Our range of services encompass full digital editing, mixing and CD mastering to give you the complete production service.

Our equipment is fully flight-cased and available with our engineers for recordings throughout the UK and Europe.

Each recording is “equipment specified” individually so you only pay for the technical facilities required for your recording.

Pricing policy:

Our pricing policy is to charge you only for the number of staff and technical facilities required (As for all of our production work).
Price ranges are as follows:

• Location Recording from £350 per day depending on number of staff and technical facilities (out of pocket expenses charged at cost)
• Studio Editing and CD Mastering £55 per hour
• Full Audio Restoration / De-noise processing £60 per hour

We also offer complete production packages from recording sessions to either supplied master disc or full manufacture and distribution of your recording. Please see below for some examples:

Discounted Fully Inclusive CD Production Packages Including:

• Recording Sessions
• Editing and CD Mastering
• Graphic Design and Print
• Manufacturing of CDs
• Delivery

Package ID	Description	Pricing
Package 1	Recording Sessions to Master Disc includes:	£1500
	Digital location recording for 1 day
	Full Editing and CD mastering for up to 2 days
	Provide 2 copies of finished master on CD-R
	Design of 4 page booklet and tray liner
Package 1a	Recording Sessions to 500 discs	ONLY £4.32 PER DISC
	Package 1 with manufacture of 500 discs*	Total Cost £2160
Package 1b	Recording Sessions to 1000 discs	ONLY £2.41 PER DISC
	Package 1 with manufacture of 1000 discs*	Total Cost £2410
Package 1c	Recording Sessions to 2000 discs	ONLY £1.39 PER DISC
	Package 1 with manufacture of 2000 discs*	Total Cost £2780
Optional Extras
Extra Booklet Pages	Design charged extra in page pairs	£65.00 per additional pair of pages
Extra Post-Production	Digital Editing and CD mastering	£55 per hour extra / discounted to £320 per extra day
Producer	1 day recording, 1 day for listening and edit schemes, 1 day for final mixing and mastering	£950.00
Package 2	Recording Sessions to Master Disc includes:	£2000
	Digital location recording for 2 days
	Full editing and CD mastering for up to 3 days
	Provide 2 copies of finished master on CD-R
	Design of 4 page booklet and tray liner
Package 2a	Recording Sessions to 500 discs	ONLY £5.86 PER DISC
	As package 1 but including manufacture of 500 discs*	Total Cost £2930
Package 2b	Recording Sessions to 1000 discs	ONLY £3.19 PER DISC
	As package 1 but including manufacture of 1000 discs*	Total Cost £3190
Package 2c	Recording Sessions to 2000 discs	ONLY £1.77 PER DISC
	As package 1 but including manufacture of 2000 discs*	Total Cost £3540
Optional Extras
Extra Booklet Pages	Charged extra in page pairs	£65.00 per additional pair of pages
Extra Post-Production	Digital Editing and CD mastering	£55 per hour extra / discounted to £320 per extra day
Producer	2 days recording, 1 day for listening and edit schemes, 1 day for final mixing and mastering	£1250.00
Essential Notes
Recording	All prices in these CD packages assume the recording is up to 8 microphones recorded multitrack. For larger or smaller technical facilities please contact us
*Manufacturing of Discs	Prices are for CDs with < 3 colour on-disc print with booklets printed 4/1 (Full colour outer pages / black and white inner) with trayliner printed 4/0 (Full colour to one side only) supplied in standard jewel cases with black tray. Other options are available, please contact us for full details
Booklet Design	All prices above include as standard graphic design of a 4 page booklet and single sided trayliner. Additional pages are available in printer spread page increments. i.e. 6 page, 8 page, 12 page. Options can include poster fold-out booklets and full colour throughout, please contact us for full details
All prices correct at time of publishing, exclude VAT at the current rate and may change without notice E &OE

Concert Recording

This service is designed to give you a stereo or multitrack recording of a live concert edited, mixed and mastered for CD production. Editing would include balancing microphone levels from a multi-microphone recording, EQ to each track, acoustic treatment, de-noising of traffic noise etc., fading applause and CD mastering).

Please get in touch by clicking here to discuss the requirements for your recording.

Promotional and Demo Recording

This service includes:

• A 3 hour recording session
• A 3 hour editing session to produce a CD master
• 25 copies of your CD with Black thermal on-disc print
• 25 CD Jewel cases with black tray
• 25 CD case trayliners & front inserts

This package price is £450* for a completed recording to digital master CD with 25 copies.
* venue hire would be extra, price assumes a recording session mix direct to stereo, artwork to include basic track listing and scanning of up to 2 pictures / photos.

Please get in touch by clicking here to discuss the requirements for your recording.